WWW.OXFORDSD.ORG OXFORD SCHOOL DISTRICT COMMUNITY-DRIVEN EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE
COMMUNITY-DR EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE OXFORD SCHOOL DISTRICT AT A GLANCE OXFORD SCHOOL DISTRICT WHAT: A n innovative, community-centered PK–12 public school district focused on academic excellence and future readiness. WHERE: Oxford, Mississippi WEBSITE: www.oxfordsd.org 2 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 07
RIVEN The Oxford School District stands out in Mississippi’s educational landscape as a compelling example of what can be achieved when academics are intertwined with community support and engagement. The district’s leaders stand by the principle that schools and resources belong to the taxpayers, so the district consistently seeks to create outcomes that go beyond CREATING FUTURE-READY CITIZENS THROUGH COLLABORATIVE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT 3 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 07
its growth and influence the lives of the students, staff, and families that support it. The Oxford School District has adopted an innovative approach to education that challenges the traditional model, where time is fixed and learning varies. Instead, Oxford flips the script— treating learning as the constant and adjusting time as the variable– meaning students are given diverse time and opportunity to master academic standards and achieve proficiency before moving to the next grade level. The district also intentionally separates academic content mastery from behavioral considerations to provide a clear picture of a student’s intellectual growth. A key driver of this approach is the district’s implementation of standards-based learning, which clearly defines what students are expected to learn and provides transparent feedback on their progress. By aligning instruction, assessment, and grading to specific learning standards, Oxford ensures that every student understands their learning goals and receives targeted support to achieve them. One of the most effective ways Oxford drives meaningful progress is through its “Redefining Ready” Pre-K to Professional initiative, which was born out of a critical mastery gap between Oxford High School graduates and college graduates. The community entrusts the district with the responsibility of preparing not only strong graduates, but also great citizens who are ready to contribute to the world. The initiative measures important non-academic factors—like attendance, punctuality, extracurricular participation, and community service—that strongly impact student success. These efforts support the district’s “Portrait of a Graduate,” which focuses on developing well-rounded students with key skills such as ethics, responsibility, problem-solving, and resilience. To support this, the Oxford School District also leverages powerful tools, such as the i-Ready digital assessment platform. “We utilize i-Ready as a powerful tool to support students across all tiers of intervention.The diagnostic assessments help us identify each student’s specific learning needs, while the personalized instruction component allows us to provide targeted support, whether it’s for remediation, reinforcement, or enrichment. i-Ready plays a key role in our MTSS framework, helping educators make data-informed decisions and ensuring every student has the 4 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 07 OXFORD SCHOOL DISTRICT
“A” rated district for 10 consecutive years. DISTRICT GOVERNANCE AND FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY ROOTED IN COMMUNITY TRUST Continuous improvement is a foundational practice in the Oxford School District, guiding everything from classroom instruction to system-wide decision-making.The district uses a comprehensive communications process, extending from the boardroom to classrooms and into the wider community, to ensure inclusivity in major decisions. By engaging staff, families, and community members in feedback loops, testing ideas on short cycles, and using data to refine practices, the district creates a culture where improvement is not an initiative—but a mindset. “We also have to make sure we’re doing a great job closing the communication loop as well. It’s not just about getting feedback; it’s equally important that we communicate the actions that result from the feedback,” Roberson clarifies, emphasizing that this effectively closes the communication loop. However, the district doesn’t just look to the community for feedback and direction; it also looks out for the community in the financial sense.A prime example of this is the district’s ability to pass a significant bond referendum without raising taxes, as well as its innovative budgeting model that allocates resources based on student needs. The Oxford School District also strives to create an ideal learning environment by demonstrating exemplary fiscal responsibility in consideration of its community. At the core of the Oxford School District’s operational philosophy is a deep-seated belief that all district resources are the property of the taxpayers. “When you keep that as your frame of reference, that you are literally representing the stakeholders in your community, you tend to make wiser decisions for the community as a whole, and we really practice that in the Oxford School District,” says Superintendent Bradley Roberson. opportunity to grow,” Roberson proudly expresses. Oxford’s use of the i-Ready platform shines a light on the profound impact of partnerships on the district’s results and, more importantly, the results of its students. Oxford’s remarkable operational effectiveness has garnered consistent accolades, including being an 5 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 07
For example, the district successfully passed a $37 million bond referendum for facility improvements without raising taxes. This remarkable achievement, secured with over 80% community approval, reflects the significant trust the community has in the district’s financial management. Additionally, a key aspect of this fiscal responsibility is a decentralized, student-based budgeting system. Unlike centralized models, this system allocates a base per-pupil cost with additional percentages for students with higher needs, such as those with special needs or requiring behavioral support. Principals are empowered to manage these allocated funds and make decisions that best serve the specific needs of their students, resulting in more targeted and efficient resource deployment. “Fiscal responsibility is something we take very seriously, and we have a clear budgeting process that starts in January to work through to make sure that we’re doing a great job of being responsible for taxpayer dollars,” Roberson states. CULTIVATING AN EQUITABLE ENVIRONMENT WITH ROBUST PARTNERSHIPS The Oxford community is remarkably diverse, with the district proudly boasting 43 different languages spoken among its student body. This diversity is a primary motivator for district leadership to create a safe and inclusive learning environment where all students, regardless of their background, feel valued and have opportunities to succeed. The district administers comprehensive surveys on culture, parent satisfaction, employee engagement, and student engagement twice annually, with a particular focus on areas identified for improvement. The district earned a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of +37 in customer satisfaction, which is considered an excellent result. NPS measures how likely people 6 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 07 OXFORD SCHOOL DISTRICT
Eley Guild Hardy Architects is proud to have played a role in the development of Mississippi’s K-12 and higher education’s architectural landscape. Over the past 70 years, our focus on the design of these educational facilities has given us the opportunity to design many of our state’s K-12, college, and university campuses, many of which can be found in the Oxford School District and surrounding community. Through our experience of working with more than 30 school districts, EGH Architects has gained an appreciation of the importance of our institutions to their communities and our state. Additionally, it has given us an understanding of the importance of their physical environment and how it contributes to learning, enhancing the efforts of teachers and administrators, and inspiring students to reach their fullest potential. Our commitment to exceptional design has not only earned us numerous awards but, more importantly, has fostered lasting relationships with clients across the region.This dedication has resulted in EGH Architects becoming one of the largest and most respected firms in Mississippi. Gulf Coast•228.594.2323 | Jackson•601.354.2572 | egh.ms Proudly serving the Oxford School District for more than 15 years!
are to recommend the district to others—indicating high levels of trust, satisfaction, and support within the community. The survey results, as well as the action items derived from them, are always shared with parents and collaboratively refined based on feedback. “We have organizational goals around creating a culture that will support all of our learnings, and we have action steps that are developed both by our schools and district to ensure that we’re meeting the needs of our students as best as possible,” Roberson says, noting that this goal also extends to parents as well. At the core of Oxford’s success is a robust community partnership, where families, local businesses, and civic leaders actively collaborate with the district to support student achievement and drive continuous improvement. As a result, Oxford’s career technical education program leverages 133 active business partnerships, enabling students to earn work-based learning credits and gain practical experience. The CTE programs have experienced explosive growth, increasing from 90 students to approximately 600 students in just four to five years—a 566.67% increase! NURTURING A DEDICATED STAFF FOR FUTURE ASPIRATIONS The Oxford School District places a high importance on having highly qualified staff, with the strategic goal of maintaining or improving its 90% staff retention rate annually while offering some of the highest teacher supplements in Mississippi. “To do that, we make sure to provide quality compensation. We have one of, if not the highest, local supplements for teachers in Mississippi. The state has a qualifying amount that we’re required to 8 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 07 OXFORD SCHOOL DISTRICT
CONNECTION CREATES IMPACT “The most powerful force for good in education is the connection between teachers and students. We honor and advance that connection every day through our commitment to innovation, research, and service.” — Kelly Sia, Curriculum Associates CEO i-Ready by Curriculum Associates proudly supports more than 14 million students and one million teachers across the U.S. with award-winning service and evidence-based mathematics and literacy solutions that are proven to work. The partnership with Oxford School District is rooted in a common goal: to positively impact student growth.Together, we are providing Oxford educators with actionable insights into student academic performance and directly connecting data to personalized instruction, so every learner is well-positioned on a path towards grade-level proficiency and beyond. A Partner, Not a Program See How at i-Ready.com We proudly support school districts with making classrooms better places for teachers and students.
offer teachers, and the Oxford School District gives more than most, if not all other, school districts in the state,” Roberson confirms. The district provides an additional $3,000 for nationally board-certified teachers, in addition to the $6,000 state supplement, boldly proclaiming to teachers that they will be valued, empowered, and heard from the onset of their employment. Supplementing that, strong partnerships with the University of Mississippi bring 70 to 75 student teachers into the district each year. Additionally, the district offers mentoring programs for candidates pursuing national board certification. It provides no-cost coursework at the University of Mississippi for educators seeking to advance their degrees, as well as instructional and improvement coaches available to all staff. LOOKING TO THE FUTURE Looking to the future, the Oxford School District aims to expand its soon-to-be key programs, namely its early childhood education program. Another key goal is the ongoing expansion of its 10 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 07 OXFORD SCHOOL DISTRICT
PREFERRED VENDOR/PARTNER n EGH www.egh.ms With offices on the Gulf Coast and Jackson, Eley Guild Hardy Architects provides comprehensive professional design services throughout Mississippi and across the Southeast. With a highly skilled team of professionals including architects and interior designers, EGH provides superior, innovative solutions to satisfy our clients needs statewide and regionally. n i-Ready www.i-ready.com i-Ready by Curriculum Associates is more than assessment—it’s a connected experience delivering teacher-led core and supplemental instruction across mathematics, literacy, professional learning, and more. Our awardwinning service and evidence-based solutions support more than 14 million students and one million teachers across the U.S. “We want to get better at getting better every single day.” By consistently evaluating processes and hardwiring behaviors that lead to success, the district ensures that students are not only academically ready but also prepared for engaging careers and fulfilling lives. career technical education program to offer more diverse pathways aligned with student interests and community needs. The district is also actively exploring the integration of artificial intelligence, having acquired its own AI server to prepare students for the safe and effective utilization of AI in society. Ultimately, the Oxford School District has demonstrated that it is focused on refining and deepening its culture of continuous improvement. Roberson captures this sentiment eloquently, saying, 11 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 07
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